Butterfly Effect
by Bekas Strife
Summary: [LR AU!: in which Noel Kreiss is the Saviour] A small change at one place can result in large differences in a later state. Snow fixes the paradox that forced the Eyes of Etro onto his fiancée but the price must still be paid, even if by others. As the victorious group is joined by Hope after the rise of Bhunivelze, the end of the world begins. [squint and it's NoeHopu]


**Based on a suggestion I got from an anon on Tumblr, about an AU in which Noel is the Saviour instead of Lightning and Serah is not the one to die... but someone else.**  
**You can access my blog through my profile and from there, just check 'my tags' and 'noehopu'. You'll come across the post.**

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They first noticed that Lightning was nowhere to be seen.

Of all people, they expected her to be there. Yet, no-one was in sight. It instantly caused Serah to grow anxious. "She should be here." She sighed, wringing her hands nervously as she looked up and down the deck of the Sazh's airship. "We defeated Caius, fixed the future: she should be here." She repeated.

"Hey, don't worry." Noel was quick to reassure, patting her shoulder. "For all we know, she could be already inside Hope's new Cocoon, waiting for us. _C'mon_, Serah. We're on an airship, in the middle of nowhere. I, for one, don't think the goddess Etro would just dump her in the middle of the sky for us to catch. Do you?"

"... I guess you're right." Serah admitted after a moment, finally cracking a smile. "I'll just have to wait a little longer."

Noel nodded, happy that he had gotten through to her. "Exactly. Soon enough, you'll be back together with your sister. Tell me, though... Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt...?"

"You mean, since you last asked me ten minutes ago? I'm _fine_, Noel. I didn't have any more visions."

A short laugh reached their ears, signaling a new arrival. "Nor should you. I took care of that, as the hero I actually am~"

"_Snow_!"

Watching with mild amusement as Serah all but jumped into the other's arms before he even had the chance to dismount his motorcycle, Noel couldn't help but wonder. "Took care of what exactly, Snow?" He asked, approaching them. "The seeress is given the Eyes of Etro by the goddess herself. You can't pull it off like a band-aid."

"This one, I could." Standing up as he wrapped an arm around Serah's shoulders, Snow looked down at her with fond eyes. "Serah's gift was not given to her by Etro because she was chosen. It was given to her as a result of a paradox."

"Paradox...?"

"When Etro woke us all up from crystal sleep, she grew weak and that's when the chaos slipped through and started creating these paradoxes, right? Well, it turns out that some of these were so numerous and severe that together, they caused Serah to get those cursed eyes." Patting Shiva, Snow couldn't help a smug grin. "I took care of those: all thirteen of them. Serah is free, man. No-one is dying cos of some cursed gift today."

"Those are great news." Serah smiled, placing a hand over her heart. She had been prepared to die for their cause but when it came down to it, she would rather live to see it become a reality. "I'm so relieved..."

"How come we never crossed any of those eras?" Noel wondered, finding it strange. They visited so many times and places, they were bound to find at least one of those paradoxes.

"Lightning was the one who told me about them, in the first place." Snow explained. "I was trapped in the Coliseum when she popped up out of thin air and took me out of there: dropped me straight into one of those eras, too. They were scattered, placed in random places of the timeline. After that, I just took off. There was no time to lose, if I wanted to end the paradoxes before you guys defeated Caius and Serah was forced to watch the changes to the future." He said as a way of apologizing for not telling them about it.

"It's alright. I'll just have to see these changes at my own pace and I'm okay with that." Serah said a small laugh, looking over her shoulder to stare up at the new ark. "I wonder how it will be, though… Living again in an enclosed space such as Cocoon."

"For starters, there will be no Fal'Cie in that one so it's already better but hey, the man himself seems to be coming to meet us!" Snow grinned, raising his arm and pumping his fist in the general direction of the airship leaving the ark. "You can ask him yourself!"

"I don't think he can see you yet." Noel admonished as he grabbed the other's arm and pulled it down, likely saving Mog from a good whack. Despite his words, he took a few impatient steps forward, just watching as the ship grew closer. It was hard to see with all of the light reflecting off the new Cocoon but the moment Hope stepped onto the deck, Noel spotted him in all of his bright haired glory. He grinned unabashedly.

Noel hadn't known Hope for long but what he did know, he liked.

Whenever they visited the other, Serah would sometimes go into small monologues afterwards about how she still couldn't believe just how _far_ Hope had gotten - how she could never have imagined that a small, lanky kid that had barely reached her nose back in the day would be one of the most important men to go down in History as the one who ultimately saved the future of the Human race. If anyone asked him, and despite never having known Hope as a kid, Noel would say that he found it hard to believe - that no-one saw that Hope was destined for greater things.

Unlike Snow, he found that Hope was quiet and mostly contained, with a hint (or a large dose, if he was to be completely frank… But this was his mind, who was keeping track anyway?) of passive-aggressiveness. He was determined to see ends meet but was honest about it and, given the opportunity, could _snark_ the pants off anyone. Noel did appreciate that trait in a person, he thought fondly.

What he valued the most in the other however, was how at ease Hope made sure to make anyone feel in his presence. Serah would sometimes speak of things he had no clue about – mostly technology, more often than not people he had never met – but Hope was careful not to or, if he did, he would explain without being prompted. It was also nice to be able to speak of home and his people with someone who would _understand_ and actually _care_, although Noel was always careful to make his roots a secret. He did suspect that Hope knew though, and it was why he indulged him, whenever he came up with a subject Farseer related. Nevertheless, it was nice… That _homey_ feeling.

It made it easier, being on a world on which you were an outsider.

By the time the second airship got close enough for Hope to jump onto their own, Snow had already enthusiastically walked past him to meet the other halfway, almost chasing him around the deck before he picked him up in a hug that was sure to be bone-crushing. "You should keep your fiancée on a leash." Noel helpfully supplied, bumping his shoulder against Serah's as they walked towards the pair. "Let him keep it up and he'll break the Director in half."

"Do not project your fantasies onto my relationship." Serah wisecracked, to which Noel simply stared, confused.

Before he could ask what she meant though, Snow was already talking again. "Not before said Director breaks my knee, I won't. Geez, kid…!" He laughed weakly as he put Hope down, taking a moment to rub his kneecaps in a great display of drama.

Straightening his jacket as if he had not just been kicking Snow's legs as a petulant child, Hope all but tuned him off, if only to preserve his sanity. The man could live for another five-hundred years and was sure not to change. "So…What do you think?" He asked, putting on a smile as he looked back at the ark. "I named it Bhunivelze."

"… I don't even know how to start saying that."

"It looks perfect, Hope." Serah stepped in, going for a gentler hug as Noel and Mog shortly debated the intricacies of saying the name Bhunivelze behind her back. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_." Hope smiled, gripping her hands as she pulled back. "The two of you got the Ores and fixed the timeline, all at great personal risk. If it weren't for you, there would be no Bhunivelze - there would be no future to speak of. There wouldn't even be a 'me', right now. You're the ones who should be thanked, not I."

"We were _all_ needed." Noel settled before something as silly as an argument could break out. Wrapping his arms around both of Hope and Serah's shoulders, he pulled them close to his sides with a grin. He even allowed Mog to settle on his head and hug his forehead. He was in _that_ good of a mood. "We were all chosen by the goddess, one way or another. _We_ did it and couldn't have done it with any of us missing from the equation. We all have the right to celebrate today."

"You're right. We _all_ saved the future." Serah said softly, smiling proudly at everyone as they took a moment to savor their victory.

"So what should we expect, Hope: buildings in bright yellow bricks and roads paved in orange, just as you like it?" Snow joked at last, slapping the other's free shoulder roughly.

When Hope failed to answer, it was cause of alarm. "Hope?" Noel called, noticing that the other seemed to be covering his face with one gloved hand. His shoulders were tense too, now that he paused to actually feel it. "Hey, you okay? Did Snow hit you that hard?" He asked, moving to remove the hand.

Before he could get a clear shot of his face, Hope dropped, making the brunet scramble to catch him before he hit the floor. "Hope!" He called in shock, hurrying to check on the other. "Hope, what's happening-?!"

It was brief and it faded as soon as he got a good look at it but there was no mistaking it. Panic swelled in his chest, spurring him into action. "Hope, snap out of it!" Noel yelled hoarsely, ignoring Serah's tugs on his arm as he suddenly smacked the other. "Hop—Hey, no! _No_! Stay with _me_!"

Helpless, Noel could only watch as his and Hope's eyes met for a brief moment before the other's closed, his body going limp in his grip at last. There was silence for an instant after that, as Noel fought to digest what had happened and the others wondered what went wrong.

"… A vision, kupo…?" Mog broke the silence, gripping his staff tightly against his chest.

"That that a vision?" Serah asked, visibly shaken. "Why did Hope have a vision? Was he a seer too?"

"… Is he okay?" Snow asked quietly, although he feared he might already know the answer.

"… He's—" There was a knot in Noel's throat, preventing him for saying it: from making it final. He didn't **understand**. "He had them. The Eyes of Etro…" He clarified, unable to tear his eyes away from Hope's face. He could be sleeping, yet he knew better. "But how…?" Noel asked, voice cracking. "He _couldn't_ have been a seer, he-there's so much he didn't know that he would have to if- It doesn't even make _sense_, I-!" A sob ripped out of his throat unasked for, bring forth all the emotions pent up in him. "What the _hell_ happened?!"

"Another paradox, kupo?"

"Paradox… No, it can't be that." Running a gloved hand through his hair, Snow tugged on the locks to regain awareness as he vaguely took notice of Serah kneeling beside Noel. "Lightning would have told me if another paradox was affecting Hope. Just like Serah, she wouldn't let him drop dead!"

"Unless, she didn't know about it." Serah supplied, taking one of Hope's hands into her own. Just moments before, they had been gripping hers tightly. Now, they were malleable in hers, heavy. Devoid of life.

"But if she knew about your paradox, how come she-" Snow stopped, brows relaxing as the realization of what had happened crossed his mind. "…It happened after yours. I came here _right_ _after_ I fixed the last paradox that gave you the eyes. What if by doing that, I created a new paradox…?"

"A paradox that made Hope a seer…"

"And that was too late to fix as we had already defeated Caius." Noel finished, disheartened as he and Serah stared at each other.

"We killed Hope?" Serah asked faintly, her eyes filling with tears. The unfairness of it all made her clench Hope's hand in a grip she knew would be painful, had Hope the capacity to still feel pain.

Hope had been nothing but helpful during their journey, never doubting the crazy tales of their expedition and offering his assistance before they even thought of asking. He had always greeted them with a smile, never put out by their random appearances through the years and sacrificed so much, leaving behind his place in time to lead the Academy through the centuries. In the end, he had done _everything_ he had been asked to and what had they given him in return…?

A swift death?

Before anyone could refute Serah's words, the sky began to darken and the wind picked up, making them wince against the harsh currents. "What's going now?" Snow asked through clenched teeth, jaw going slack as a bright insignia flicked into existence in the middle of the sky.

"The goddess..." Mog said weakly, causing the others to belatedly realize that his crystal had stopped glowing and that he was growing increasingly weak. He fell soon after the words left him, unable to keep himself in the air for much longer. "She is gone, kupo…" He uttered as Serah caught him, passing out.

"Gone…? But—We defeated Caius!" Serah cried out in confusion, looking at Noel for answers. "We should have saved her!"

As he stared down at his hands, Noel's eyes widened with growing horror. Caius' words… "In his chest, beat the Heart of Chaos… I killed the goddess?!" He cried out, stumbling as the airship rocked dangerously just as chaos broke the gate and flooded their world.

It was _suffocating_. All of it.

Hope was dead against his chest and instead of saving the world - _his_ future - he had doomed it and everyone in it to suffer a slow demise.

He didn't understand. All he had ever wanted was to make people happy: his grandma, Yeul and all of the other Farseers, Serah and her sister… He had failed Lightning too. She had entrusted him and Serah with the most important of tasks and in the end, he threw all of their hard work and her sacrifices away. How could he ever begin to fix it? How could he even begin to apologize?!

Letting Hope's body slip from his arms as he began to hyperventilate, Noel gripped his hair tightly and _pulled_. He needed a solution, a new _miracle_- a new gate to take him back to the very start, so he could begin to fix all of his mistakes-!

But Etro was gone now—there was no goddess to watch over him anymore and to offer him second chances. The world was dying and there was nothing that he could do: one could even argue that he had done _enough_.

Once more, he had failed to protect what mattered the most. What kind of guardian was he, after all?!

Pulling at the force gathering within him, Noel screamed and everything he was touching instantly became indestructible crystal, the strength of the resulting magic blast throwing everyone away from him and dangerously close to the edges of the airship's deck. He didn't have time to worry though, nor was he in the right mind to do so, as the crystal quickly covered his entire body.

In seconds, he had become a representation of sorrow and agony, frozen for eternity in tormenting guilt…

Until the world reclaimed its debt, that is.


End file.
